Brooks Koepka’s coach unloads on golfing media, LIV golfer remedy

As the golf calendar year marches on, much will be created about Brooks Koepka’s fifth important championship. The speculation will include a great deal about what it usually means for Koepka now that he’s forward of Rory McIlroy in job majors. It will admit that he was the very first LIV golfer to acquire a main. And that he snagged a PGA Tour victory whilst not being a member of the PGA Tour. 

But what will it all signify for LIV Golf? That will be discussed for months to come. What will it signify for LIV that their gamers at the moment hold not just 1 but two key championships? Is it just one more indicator that LIV pros’ qualities are unchanged by their new environment? 

Amongst these sharing the strongest viewpoints: Koepka’s coach, Claude Harmon III 

In the wake of Koepka’s PGA Championship gain Sunday — both just before the closing round and following it — Harmon spoke with a couple of users of the media, a person of whom was Golfweek’s Adam Schupak, who teed up the interaction in an article and printed Harmon’s views in full Tuesday. You can study all of it here. 

Harmon’s biggest gripes seem to revolve all around golf media and how he thinks LIV golfers, their choices and their perform has been portrayed in excess of the very last 12 months. He begins by critiquing two Golf Channel analysts, Brandel Chamblee and Eamon Lynch, calling Chamblee a “paid actor”.  

Harmon was also eager to be aware that all of golf media, in his estimation, thought LIV golfers’ skills would drop off with a less intensive routine and with certain paychecks from 54-hole tournaments without having a lower. He is proper that individuals issues were being requested. And not just by golf media. Tiger Woods himself asked the dilemma all through his push meeting at The Open past July, saying, “But what these gamers are accomplishing for assured income, what is the incentive to observe? What is the incentive to go out there and make it in the dust? You are just finding paid a lot of dollars up entrance and playing a handful of gatherings and playing 54 holes. They are enjoying blaring music and have all these atmospheres that are unique.”

Harmon pounced on accurately that concept: 

“You guys all think LIV’s, it’s possible you’ve modified your tune, but at first, it was all just bullsh-t, a bunch of men actively playing who didn’t treatment, who received the cash, who obtained the bag, and it is 54 holes and there’s no competition and all that. So it was uncomplicated for you fellas to just fake like these fellas just weren’t great players any longer. And I believe you fellas mainly did that simply because you drank the Kool-Aid of everybody else. But how you men all imagined that these men just weren’t heading to display up and be great players is over and above me. I feel it is an fascinating Jedi intellect trick that they played on you men and you guys fell for it. Mainly because you guys ended up all, ‘These guys have been all washed up. They took the bag. They are insignificant. They play in opposition to no opposition.’ And that is just not the case.”

What Harmon has conveniently looked previous is that a lot of of the most costly signees for LIV golfing didn’t play great golf throughout the summer time of 2022 just after signing up for the upstart tour. Cameron Smith was not actively playing like a leading-5 player in the entire world immediately after he joined. Koepka spent much of the slide playing like the 60th- or 70th-very best player in the world, according to DataGolf. Bryson DeChambeau, performed like a underneath-average Tour participant for the initially time in five a long time. Dustin Johnson, another Harmon pupil, has been very good, but not his typical terrific. Was it an injuries? Right up until very last 7 days, we had no plan Johnson was nursing a back injuries for the duration of the commencing of 2023. Phil Mickelson has still gained just one major 10 in his LIV profession, but then gained each trump card he ever needed with a T2 finish at the Masters.

Are LIV’s most effective shining right now? Without doubt. It’s great to see. But only now is it reasonable for Harmon to make the circumstance that there was no stage again in efficiency. The numbers weren’t earning that argument until finally just not too long ago.

Harmon ongoing his criticism by saying golfing media have demonstrated a inclination to anoint PGA Tour up-and-comers who have not attained the recognition, at minimum in Harmon’s eyes. He cited Will Zalatoris, who has won just when on the Tour, as a player who was “crowned” by golfing media.

“But my place with that is you guys all acted like Brooks was a sh—y participant and Will Zalatoris was excellent, but the person has won one particular [expletive] golf event, yeah, he’s finished second in a bunch of tournaments,” Harmon explained. “So have a whole lot of gamers, but you men are prepared to crown him as if he’s the second coming of Christ and you guys are performing like Brooks Koepka was a bum.”

Harmon observed that Zalatoris was rated in the prime 10 in the Official Globe Golfing Ranking inspite of having just a person victory, which is precise. Zalatoris was rated 10th when he withdrew from the Masters in April with a again damage. It is honest to acknowledge that, but Harmon’s gripe should then be with the OWGR relatively than golf media. Players with lots of high finishes, significantly in big championships, can rise the ranking with no victories. Back again in October 2015, Koepka himself was rated 12th in the OWGR, despite possessing just just one Tour title. It takes place.

Finally, at the close of an interview crammed with analogies, Harmon concluded with cross-sport comparisons, likening Koepka to other significant athletes and his selection to be part of LIV as very similar to the free company we see in other pro sporting activities: that Koepka is like a franchise quarterback in the NFL or a beginning pitcher in the MLB. 

“Justin Verlander obtained $90 million to go to the Mets,” Harmon explained. “Has he even pitched a match for the Mets? Is any person writing about why he went there? Proper. Nobody’s producing about why he went there. Proper? Most people thinks it’s terrific. If you’re a Mets fan, you’re like, terrific. Justin Verlander, two a long time. No person knows how negative his arm is. No person is familiar with how poor his elbow is. Nobody knows how many innings he can go. But this is my position.

“I said this, we had been at Portland and a couple of guys have been like, ‘Why do you consider they’re spending him this?’ I’m like, ‘Guys, Brooks Koepka is Justin Verlander. He’s a four-time Entire world Collection, 4-time Cy Youthful.’ Even if he’s harm at this stage of his job, what did Verlander get? He’s at the close of his job and they gave him $90 million. That is pretty near to what I’m confident a bunch of these LIV guys got and no one bats an eyelash.”

Harmon’s job interview with Schupak also incorporated commentary evaluating LIV and the PGA Tour to NASCAR and F1 racing. For the whole interview, simply click below.